Fall WIP

School has been busy, with practicals and challenging classes-Pathology, to name one, so I haven't been crafting as much. I did stop by a quilt shop a couple of weekends ago, though, and they had a nice selection of scraps, which you could stuff into a baggie for 3 dollars:quite a good deal! Here is the top I pieced with some of the scraps.

It is not bad for 3 dollars, but still only half the size I want, so I am sort of at a standstill while I consider my options. I have plenty of warm hued fabrics to finish it out, but it would be quite difficult to replicate the scrappy spontaneity that made this top so pretty. I'll keep you updated once I do make a decision, I guess.

crafting update

I have been away for quite a while, as between my medical mission to Guatemala, and the Cranial Academy conference in La Jolla, I've managed to make the rooms quite a mess. Finally, I've started cleaning them up and getting things organized enough to craft again.

I was on a card making kick for a while, and I hosted a card and stamping night at Whitney's house with Kate, Whitney, and Amanda. We had a great time, and I delighted to show them the techniques I've been learning from Britta Swiderski, Nichol Magouirk, and Kristina Werner on Youtube, from embossing to coloring to blending. But I needed a break.

So, I started quilting again. Summer in Vegas is the perfect time to quilt because we are forced inside due to the 100+ heat, and it is usually quite chilly inside from the air conditioning. I found a beautiful Dove in the Window pattern when I was searching on Google images, and with a little adaptation of a Lemoyne Star pattern, made up my own. I'm hand quilting, so it is slow going, but it is nice to get back to needle and thread again.

I'm hoping to make an entire quilt (12 stars), so I'll have to hurry to finish before school starts. I've heard the second year of med school is the toughest: Pathology, Pharmacology, and Microbiology: definitely no time for quilting (or crafting) then! 

Where I've been, and a card for Alyson!

Hello there!
It's been so long since I last posted *shamefaced*. Well, I DID have a good excuse: I had a horrible week of exams and practicals for med school last week, and then this week was me recovering from all the sleep deprivation and excessive caffeine consumption of the last month, and probably the entire school year. I had a migraine the day before yesterday, and then now that I've recovered, it's time to start packing for Guatemala! I'm going to Guatemala for a 10-day medical mission, and I'm so excited. I've traveled through many countries in Central America including Belize, Panama, and Costa Rica, but it's going to be my first time in Guatemala, and my first time going as medical personnel. (That sounds so weird! I'm just a first year medical student/soon-to-be second year medical student! Medical personnel sounds so professional...anyways...)

Here is a crafty update as well! I made this card for my friend Alyson's birthday. Technically, it is a day late because we had a TBL the day before, and we couldn't exactly do anything until after the TBL. Sorry, Alyson!

I'd been wanting to use some Lawn Fawn stamps as a background stamp, so I pulled out the Petite Florals set, and put a bunch of them on the Fiskars Stamp press. Voila! The hat and the sentiment are from the Lawn Fawn's Hats Off to You set. The banner is from the Bannerific set, of course. I also used some glossy accents and a Sakura white gel pen for the dots.  (I need to fix my InLinkz thing, but that'll be after Guatemala.).

I'm entering it into 4 challenges: 

1. Lawnscaping Challenges has a CAS Challenge

2. Through the Craftroom Door has a Anything goes challenge. 

3. PartyTime Tuesday has an Anything goes challenge

4. Simon Says Stamp Challenge also has an Anything goes challenge

Wish me luck! 

Love,~Z

Spring Break! and a card for Molly

It's spring break this week, so I actually had a couple of days away from studying. Granted, there was still SOME studying: I have an anatomy practical next Monday, so Netter's is basically going to be my constant companion until next week. However, I took some time out to make some cards. Here is the first one: This card is for my friend Molly, who was recently accepted into an archivist librarian Master's program in Boston. Supplies used are all Lawn Fawn: Lawn Fawn Dewey Decimal 6X6 pad, Dewey Decimal sticker, and the sentiment is from Just My Type. More pictures later! I'm headed to school to study for a few hours!

Simon Says Stamp March Card Kit and Challenge

Sorry I've been away for so long! Med school has definitely eaten up most of crafting time, and sleep time. Ah well. I have been playing around with the Simon Says Stamp March 2013 Card kit, and saw that the challenge for this week was green, so I ended up making a card to go with that theme.

The cardstock, washi tape, sentiment, and 2 of the papers of the flower are all from the March SSS card kit found here: http://www.simonsaysstamp.com/servlet/the-54125/Simon-Says-Stamp-clear/Detail

The pink paper is the KI Enchanting Papers collection. I also used the Jenni Bowlin Brown Sugar stamp pad for the sentiment. 

Sorry today's such a short blog. I hope you enjoy, and I promise to be more active once exams are over! 

Best,

~Z

Resin Flowers!

I used resin flowers for the first time yesterday, as a few were included in the August Simon Says Stamp Monthly Kit. I immediately fell in love with them! Now, I can't wait to get my hands on some more. Of course, cost-conscious-me wants to make my own.

I remember that Kelly Marie Alvarez from Lawn Fawn once had a video about making resin flowers, so I went to look for the etsy store she recommended, Mold Muse, and after much debating (there are currently 254 different molds on the store), I have narrowed down my immediate wishlist to three:

1. A small Sakura flower
http://www.etsy.com/listing/62694052/mold-sakura-flower-cabochon-flower-mould?ga_search_query=sakura

2. An assortment of roses
http://www.etsy.com/listing/74137943/flower-cabochon-mold-roses-asst-sizes

3. A large Chrysanthemum
http://www.etsy.com/listing/66060103/chrysanthemum-pom-pom-cabochon-flexible?ref=v1_other_1
OR
http://www.etsy.com/listing/74138040/chrysanthemum-cabochon-flexible-mini?ref=v1_other_1

However, there are also a couple of others on my extended list:
4. Large Sakura flower
http://www.etsy.com/listing/76250647/large-sakura-flower-cabochon-flexible

5.a large hibiscus flower
 http://www.etsy.com/listing/98168218/large-hibiscus-flower-silicone-mold?ref=v1_other_2

6. small Chrysanthemum flowers
http://www.etsy.com/listing/65526981/chrysanthemum-mum-cabochon-3-cavity

7. Orchid (small)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/81300726/orchid-cabochon-flexible-silicone-mold?ga_search_query=orchid

8. Lotus
http://www.etsy.com/listing/76231007/lotus-flower-flexible-mold-mould-for

9. Cabbage Rose
http://www.etsy.com/listing/74138210/large-cabbage-rose-flexible-silicone?ref=v1_other_2

See what I mean? I could go on and on...

Haul: Blog edition: Chinese Stamps!

Hey all!
My video camera isn't working, so I decided to do a blog haul instead. I've been trying to be good about not spending TOO much, but it was my birthday recently, and I decided to give myself a birthday present. So, this post and the next post will be covering the many stamps that I bought.

I've been trying to find some good Chinese stamps (stamps about China/ with Chinese content, not stamps made in China), and it has been quite difficult. Most of the Made in USA stamp companies seem to think that Asia is one enormous glob of homogenization of culture, which means that stamps with kimonos and Japanese temples are tagged as "Chinese". Others are Chinese, but have that racist Fu Manchu-style that I shudder to look at. Seriously, in today's society, why would you go about offending people? It's not 1882 anymore. There are plenty of Asians around who can explain in words large and small the differences between all the countries in Asia. No one seems to mix up France, England, and Germany, so why are the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese mixed up?


Anyways, I'll end my rant here. I did find some very pretty, culturally appropriate stamps, and here they are:
1. The Friends Cling Stamps by Hero Arts

2. Nihao stamp by My Cute Stamps ( I love that the characters are actually in simplified form! I can't stand traditional, but then I that might just be that I am too lazy to look up what they correspond to in Simplified.)

Finally, I ordered a third set from Simon Says Stamp, but it hasn't come yet. I will post it when I get it! 

In other stamps, I ordered a bunch of Lawn Fawn Stamps, and another My Cute Stamps set:

Owlways Friends by My Cute Stamps:

Happy Stamping and Creating, everyone!